Naraku (spirit)
| gender = Male | height = 5'10" | weight = 163 lbs | eyes = Sea-green | hair = Turquoise | unusual features = None | partner = None | previous partner = None | base of operations = | shikai = Naraku | bankai = Not yet revealed }} Naraku (ならく, Japanese for "hades") is an ancient and powerful zanpakutō spirit that has been a major part of 's history since the founding of the . Unknown to most shinigami, as well as all other spiritual beings, Naraku is actually the gates of Hell taking a humanoid form. Due to this, the zanpakutō spirit has been an essential force for the shinigami, with it being one of the very few zanpakutō that can survive without being in possession of a partner. Despite it's initial purpose being the carrier of demonic spirits from the human world to hell, it has recently been used to allow the diabolus to pass through hell without being noticed by the optimates. Currently, Naraku wanders throughout all spiritual planes, hoping to find someone to do battle with. Appearance Being a zanpakutō spirit, Naraku is eternally youthful; never having aged a day in his life. Facially, Naraku has long, swept back, turquoise hair with part of his bangs hanging over his eyes. His facial expression is usually settled in a calm smile with his sea-green eyes narrowed. As for attire, Naraku wears a red vest with an upturned collar, as well as dark-blue pants that are tucked into his, unusual for a zanpakutō spirit, jet-black boots. Generally, Naraku is seen with a long dark-blue cape draped over his shoulders. Although highly unexplained, many believe that the cape is to conceal his spiritual energy while opening the gates of hell. Another, equally ludicrous, assumption is that it is to make certain that his "victims,"'' as many call the beings that pass through the gates, don't know who he is. Personality A very unique personality, Naraku is unable to feel, nor comprehend, basic human emotion. Due to this, he never shows emotion, which leads many people to believe that he has no sense of self. Without the ability to comprehend basic feelings that all humans exhibit, Naraku has made it a point to alert his opponents that he cannot show, nor feel, compassion, as well as any other emotion. Since emotions are what allow people to take rational actions, Naraku will, instead, act on his impulses and make irrational decisions without a second thought on the matter. Despite this, he is has been shown to be capable of making rational decisions, but it puts a strain on his mind, as Naraku is accustomed to just letting his impulses guide him. When thinking rationally, he must concentrate to the point that he forgets about everything around him, making not reacting as he normally would a major weakness while in the field. Unlike most zapankutō spirits that lack a spiritual partner, Naraku's personality has not dissolved away and made him a , due to the fact that he has never had a partner. It has been speculated that the reason he continues to survive without a shinigami is because of his incredibly unique personality. The reasoning for this has been that no shinigami, or any partner for that matter, would possess such an emotionless blade, as the zanpakutō is a part of the shinigami's soul. However, this is yet to be proven true, and Naraku has been forbidden to speak of how he continues to live on by the itself. When entering the battlefield, most of Naraku's original personality remains. However, he has been seen to be much crueler and riskier in battle, as he was shown opening a large abyss to hell that destroyed a large portion of the battlefield just to see if it would swallow his opponent up. If this risk proves to not be effective, Naraku will follow up with an extremely basic technique, which he has stated is to determine if he can fool his opponent so easily. Despite this, Naraku has shown himself to be incredibly perceptive and an excellent strategist. He can identify the flaws in an allies, as well as opponent's strategy just by observing them for one minute, as well as adapt his own to counter it within that whole minute. Many people that know Naraku have made clear, several times I might add, that he is capable of fighting a few Captains of the at the same time if he felt like it, but this is yet to be proven. History ''More soon... Synopsis More soon... Powers and abilities : Due to the fact that it has been around longer than most shinigami, Naraku possesses a substantial amount of spiritual energy. When it was first created, the zanpakutō spirit had little to no reiryoku in its possession; however, it soon discovered that it could feed on the spiritual energy of whoever passes through the gates of hell, allowing it to assimilate their reiatsu into its own. After feeding on it's "victims,"'' as so many call them, Naraku has grown to have one of the largest reserves of spiritual energy in the history of Soul Society. With this extraordinary amount, it has been shown to make the likes of great men, such as Oda Nobunaga and Naishō Kawahiru, both known for their incredible reserves, cringe in fear. '''Immense Speed:' Despite not being capable of learning how to use shunpō, or any other type of speed enhancement for that matter, Naraku is quite the little speed demon. Without using it's speed to it's full capacity, it has shown to easily keep up with expert-level shunpō practitioners, as well as catching some masters of the art, such as Inshu Senshi and Naishō Kawahiru. However, Naraku's speed pales in comparison to the likes of grandmasters, most notably the Goddess of Flash. : Naraku has shown total dominance in the field of zanjutsu. Being alive since the founding of the , it isn't surprising that Naraku is a master of the blade. Despite being extremely skilled at swordplay, it has not learned any specific type of sword-fighting style (i.e. kendō, iaidō, etc.). Because of this major setback, Naraku can easily be bested by any master swordsman that focuses on one type of style. However, this does not hold true for expert wielders of the blade, as Naraku has been shown to easily fight off three expert swordsmen without the release of his shikai. It is later revealed that these shinigami had released their shikai, which 'causes speculation as to whether or not Naraku is better than a master... Skilled Strategist and Tactician: Although it can be difficult for Naraku to think rationally, it is still quite adept at creating, as well as counter, strategies. While observing any fight, it can easily decide who will win, as well as who's strategy flows better within the time-span of a minute. However, due to Naraku's actions mostly based on his impulses, it rarely makes it's own battle plan; instead just going with the flow of the fight. Despite this, when Naraku does form a plan of attack, it almost always flows smoothly and without a hitch, much to the annoyance of it's opponents. : Since it relies heavily on it's zanpakutō, Naraku's skill in the art of hakuda is very poor, at best. Due to it's zanpakutō's ability, it trains endlessly to perfect it, causing it's close combat skills to decline. Because it rarely uses it's limbs to attack, Naraku has shown itself to hardly move from it's initial location during battle, which is a side-effect to it's zanpakutō. When pushed into a corner, it is quick to open the distance between itself and the enemy, as Naraku is not confident enough in it's ability to outmatch it's opponent in hakuda. However, if a situation arises in which it must fight hand-to-hand, it has shown to be able to match experts of the field for a short length of time. Despite this, Naraku continues to evade hakuda unless absolutely needed. Enhanced Strength: Like many zanpakutō spirits before it, Naraku has shown itself to be very strong for it's stature, able to throw multi-story-high opponents a remarkable distance, as well as shatter large boulders with a single punch. Even with this substantial amount of strength, Naraku still doesn't use it to it's full potential, much like it's hand-to-hand combat. Stats Zanpakutō Naraku's zanpakutō, named Naraku (ならく, Japanese for "hades"), takes the form of a blade that is slightly longer than a nodaichi, with a crimson-coloured handle, as well as a golden tsuba that it rectangular in shape. On the bladed part of Naraku's zanpakutō is the kanji "つみ" (tsumi; Japanese for "sin"), which is written in a deep shade of red. *' :' To release it's shikai, Naraku must first speak the words "time to raise some hell" (時間は、いくつかの地獄を高めるために, jikan wa, ikutsu ka no jigoku o takameru tame ni). After doing so, a torrent of spiritual energy will erupt from Naraku's person, causing anything within ten meters to dissolve when making contact with the massive amount of reiryoku. While this geyser of reiatsu is erupting, the blade itself will disappear completely, leaving only the handle and tsuba still intact. :Shikai Special Ability: Unquie among all zanpakutō, Naraku's ability revolves around the manipulation of the gates of hell, as well as the spirits that pass through said gates for attack and defense. Once it shows it's power, it is revealed that the gates are actually the blade that disappeared, although it is unknown why it disappears. To manipulate the gates, Naraku must swipe his zanpakutō, which directs the gate where to go. The gates are incredibly durable, being able to block a Lanza del Relámpago, along with a Cero Oscuras, from Ulquiorra Cifer with only a large dent. Naraku can also surround itself with the gate, implying that there are more than one of these gates of despair. For the second part of it's abilities, Naraku is capable of condensing the spiritual energy of his "victims" into a blade to go with it's empty handle, as well as send a wave of compressed reiryoku towards the enemy, allowing for another offensive ability. :*'Ijōseki' (いじょうせき, Japanese for "surrounding gate") causes five (if on the ground) or six (if in the air) gates to surround Naraku, effectively closing itself off from the outside world. While in this barrier of sorts, it is transparent to the zanpakutō spirit, but it is opaque to the opponent, which allows Naraku to know exactly what's going on around him. While inside this barrier, each gate can open up for an incoming attack, which sends it to a separate dimension where it is trapped until another gate opens. This effectively allows Naraku to attack his enemy while still protecting itself. :*'Kusoken' (くそけん, Japanese for "damnable blade") is Naraku's ability to summon a blade made up of the spiritual energy of all the souls that have ever passed through the gates of hell. By condensing the spiritual energy, Naraku can attach the conjured blade to his blade-less sword's hilt, although this blade is jet-black with a crimson-coloured hue on the edges. This new sword works just as a normal one, but it is said to be much more painful than any ordinary blade. However, this is only speculation, as only Naraku, the one person that cannot be injured by his zanpakutō, has been seen saying this. :*'Unkaseki' (うんかうせき, Japanese for "disappearing gate") allows Naraku to make one of the six different gates to disappear, as well as reappear, in any area that is not already being taken occupied by another object of mass. Simple on its own, but combined with the Unomiseki technique, Unkaseki is one formidable ability. :*'Norowashīsuto' (のろわしいスト, Japanese for "accursed strike"), similar to 's Getsuga Tenshō, is a blast of compressed reiryoku from Naraku's "victims" that can be fired after slashing towards the opponent. However, this attack can only be used while Naraku is using it's Kusoken technique, which the zanpakutō spirit usually never does. Due to this, it is unknown how powerful Norowashīsuto truly is, although it has been speculated to be as power as a Gran Ray Cero of one of the Espada. :*'Unomiseki' (うのみうせき, Japanese for "swallowing gate") is the base ability of Ijōseki. By opening the doors of the gates, they can "swallow" the incoming attack, keeping Naraku completely out of harm's way. Much like in it's Ijōseki technique, this attack shall remain in a separate dimension until the gate is opened up again, where it will be sent towards the opponent with the exact amount of force it initially had. *' :' Not yet revealed. Behind the scenes More soon... Trivia More soon... Category:Articles by Koukishi